Rainier, if not for the weather a five star place!
-
2/27/2021
We came to Rainier 5 years ago from Tillamook on the coast. The weather is pretty much the same as for the coast except in summer, so if you're not right on the river you might have up too 10 days a year you might need air con. Shopping here is done in Longview as it's just across the river so you pay Washington sales tax (no tax on food) and if your are working in Oregon, Oregon state income tax. The city of Rainier is right on the river with nice sandy beaches and a beautiful beach park. It's a very nice clean small town and has some old world charm. We have a Grocery outlet and a Dollar store and half a dozen restaurants. Once you travel out of town and off the main highway you will be in Dogpatch! Much of the rural area is dotted with crappy old trailers and hovels. If needing to go to the big city of Portland you're only about 50 minutes away and the traffic isn't bad at all, till you actually get in the city. All in all Rainier isn't a bad place to live especially if you can do Oregon winters. Our PUD keeps our electric rates low at less than .08 cents a KWH. We heat our home with wood so our electric bill for a 4600sqft home runs about $40 a month, and wood can be bought delivered at $200 a cord. Oregon property tax for us is around $350 a month, but we live on 7 acres of river frontage. Since i have lived in places like Auckland NZ (my favorite) and traveled all over the world I can only give it 4 stars. But if you are looking for a down home country attitude with friendly people and you can bare 5 months of Oregon winter Rainier is a great place.
tim | Rainier, OR